Profile For Fatsquatch

Not to take away from your teaching moment, but it's rather unfair to immediately leap to the conclusion that the driver who dropped that trailer was simply being lazy or ambivalent. He/she may have simply not noticed the offending spear in the tire. It's entirely possible that it was something picked up en route to the drop location, and wasn't visible when the trailer was dropped because that part of the tire was in contact with the pavement when they went to drop it.

I had something very like that happen to me a couple years back. I was taking a load to a place in Rancho Cucamonga. When I left the TA in Wheeler Ridge, everything was fine and dandy. When I got to the receiver and went back to open my doors, I noticed a very audible HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS coming from somewhere on the left side near the axle. I couldn't see anything, so I hurried up and finished backing into my door and went back for a closer look to see if maybe there was a problem with the air lines or one of the brake canisters. To my surprise, I found the business end of a bolt seal jammed neatly into the middle of the rear outside tire. The end was, as you described, ground down all flat and shiny, and I could not only hear but also feel the air blowing out of the hole. Lord only knows where the thing came from, but it certainly hadn't been there 2 1/2 hours earlier. Fortunately our Fontana yard was only a few miles away, and I was able to limp it over to the shop and have them play musical tires once I was empty.

The moral of the story is, while it's easy and sometimes satisfying to grumble and grump about the other guy being a lazyass, you simply don't know what did or did not happen to that trailer before you got to it, and to assume it was incompetence on their part is foolish. You know what they say about what happens when you assume...

It came back to “hunt” you and you don’t expect to “live.” 😆

If we’re not careful, that autocorrect can really tell an interesting story.

Your honesty is great AND the read is entertaining. Nice job on both counts.

However in certain conditions and areas chains may well be required if you want to continue moving.

I agree with this. Chuck said he's running the Western eleven. Those guys are going to be chaining up at times. Most OTR drivers can avoid it if they want to.

One thing you have to consider when using chains is that your speed is severely reduced. So, if you're earning 50 cents per mile and you can only average 15 mph while in a "chain zone," then you're making $7.50/hour. Plus you've got to calculate the time and frustration to "throw iron" and then remove it. That's why many drivers will take a break, let the roads get cleared, and then roll on without chaining up. Of course there's a few passes out West where you might wait six weeks for things to clear up! In those cases your options are really limited - so you throw the chains and move on.

I run the Western 11, and I generally park when I see the chain law(s) go into effect. It's just not worth it to go clanking and sliding around on the hills in this part of the country. Better to wait until the storm passes and the crews can get out and make with the cleaning. The only time I'll actually sling iron is if it's an actual emergency. Example: last winter I was on my way to Oregon from central Cali, and as I was coming out of Redding it was snowing, but the chain law was not in effect. However, a semi lost it and jackknifed across both lanes of I-5 a couple miles south of Castella. By the time they got the truck moved enough snow had accumulated ahead of the wreck that they put the chain law up from Redding to Weed. Unfortunately, I was already caught in the backup behind the wreck, and had to chain to get out of there and up to the nearest place to park and wait for them to drop the chain law again...which was in Weed. Circumstances like that are the only exception to my "NOPE" rule when it comes to chains.

Here's something to chew on: if these lease/lease purchase plans are so amazingly lucrative, why do companies have to try so hard to sell them to the drivers? If it's such a screaming deal, there should be drivers lined up out to the street begging to sign a lease, but there isn't. Instead, there are people in the office practically begging drivers to come in and sign.

Funny, that.

One big thing that nobody ever seems to want to talk (or think) about is taxes. As an O/O, or any other small business owner for that matter, there's the little detail of the Quarterly Estimated Tax. Every 3 months, you have to guess how much money you're going to make for the *next* 3 months, and send the appropriate taxable amount to the IRS. If you overpay over the course of the year, you'll get a refund, but if you guess wrong and underpay? Be ready to write another big, fat check in April.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not too keen on playing guessing games, especially not where the IRS is concerned.

I've become a fan of Bellingham Wonder Grip gloves. The ones I use are fleece-lined, so they're great in winter. They're nitrile-coated on both sides, so they're waterproof, double dipped for durability, and very grippy. Theyre fantastic for chaining up, because your hands stay warm and dry while you're wrestling with cold, wet, slippery metal, and they'll last upwards of 9 months before you get any tears in the rubber. I usually get mine at a workwear store near my house for around $7 a pair.

Dial it back there, Captain Stereotype. You're completely off the mark across the board.

I'm sure as most of you know, this week is truck driver appreciation week. Well a heads up for those coming up into Maine if any of you are. The State police are holding a free lunch for drivers at the northbound scale house on I95 in York, ME. Unfortunately it's only from 11:00am to 14:00, so it's a fairly small window.

If anyone else knows of any spots to get some stuff. Coffee, breakfast, shower, whatever. Go ahead and post it in here. Let's get all the perks we can.

TA/Petro is offering a free coffee coupon. Swipe/scan your Ultra One card at the kiosk to get the coupon. Far as I know, the offer is valid at all their locations.

One fine afternoon I was cruising along the turnpike westbound through Gary, IN. I'm clipping along at 60, just kinda maintaining my spot in the herd, and out of nowhere like it was fired out of a cannon comes this can hauler in the hammer lane. He had to be doing at least 80. But that wasn't the real eye-opener. His chassis had not one, not two, not even three, but EIGHT blown tires. There was not a single actual tire left under that can. And no matter how many guys got on the radio to advise him of the situation, he just kept romping along, throwing sparks and bits of rubber allwhere.

Another reason to shy away from racing straight to driving teams is simply you dont know if you'll be able to sleep in a moving truck. You'll find out in a helluva hurry once you're out with a trainer. I discovered in my first week on my trainer's truck I could never run team because I simply cannot sleep while the truck is bouncing and jostling down the highway. Every little bump and crease and pebble on the road would snap me wide awake. I think I might have gotten a total of 40 hours of sleep in that 5 weeks.

So yeah, I'd advise against committing to an all-team outfit until you're certain you can do it.